Now we are here. Next year in Jerusalem

Once again, our vibrant community welcomes so many Jewish visitors from around the world to our renowned Safari Pesach Retreat beneath African skies. 

As the rabbi of Sandton Central Shul, in Johannesburg’s bustling hotel district, I and my family witness this phenomenon all year round. A businessman on a layover, a backpacker seeking a Shabbos dinner, or a family touring and attending a minyan before heading to the Kruger National Park, countless individuals discover that Jewish life in South Africa isn’t just surviving, but it’s thriving. 

From Cape Town to Johannesburg, our community sparkles with vibrant shuls, outstanding schools, kosher food that can hold its own with New York on a good day, and a warmth no travel brochure could ever capture. And during Pesach, that spirit reaches new heights. 

For more than a decade we have hosted a Safari Pesach Retreat, blending gourmet yom tov meals, sunrise game drives, spirited seders, and inspiring programming. One message we try to emphasise every year is that Pesach isn’t about retreating but rather about advancing. A moment from one past retreat captured this perfectly. 

ChaiFM’s Howard Feldman once broadcast his show live from the resort and interviewed the hotel’s executive chef, Francois, who was working along with our catering team. Howard jokingly grilled him about how Jews manage to eat so well on Pesach. At the end he asked Francois whether he would join us again the following year. 

Francois looked puzzled. “But next year you are going to Israel, would you take me with?” he asked me. I asked why he thought that we were moving our annual Safari Pesach Retreat to the Holy Land. 

He replied very simply, “It says so in your booklet. Next year in Jerusalem!” 

It was a funny moment, but also a profound one. Sometimes it takes an outsider to remind us that those words at the end of the Haggadah, that we also recite at the culmination of Yom Kippur, are not just poetry. They are a declaration of hope. The Haggadah says, “Now we are here. Next year in the Land of Israel.” 

Those few words capture the Jewish spirit. We celebrate the present with gratitude, yet we never stop yearning for something greater. Judaism never denies the beauty of where we are. We can celebrate a magnificent Pesach in South Africa, surrounded by family, community, and even the occasional troop of hungry monkeys eyeing the matza. But at the same time we keep our eyes on a larger horizon. 

Pesach is the story of a journey. We left Egypt, but we were never meant to remain in the desert. 

So wherever you celebrate this year, at an exquisite retreat or in your own kitchen surrounded by the familiar chaos of Pesach preparations, remember that freedom isn’t only about where we are. It is about where we are going. 

Now we are here. 

Next year in Jerusalem. 

Wishing our entire community a Chag Kasher V’Sameach, filled with meaning, laughter, and just enough maror to keep us humble. 

• Rabbi Ari Kievman is the rabbi at Chabad Sandton Central.